Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes over Brown Rice Pasta

This is one of my favorite recipes nowadays… I can safely say this is what I am cooking to impress new boyfriends (yes, there is more than one…) these days. Boyfriends and girlfriends too… OK, friends overall!!!

The first time I made this recipe, or idea/concept really, was at my friend’s Melissa. I was bored, wanted to cook but not just for me, posted on FaceBook and Melissa offered her kitchen for me to cook away. FaceBook is a wonderful, wonderful thing. It connects you with friends online and offline too…

I say this is a concept or idea more than a recipe because I have done this about 5-6 times already and every time I make it differently. And every time the end result is still delicious… I am sharing with you the BEST combination of them all.  But you can certainly mix and match, omit or add any ingredient you deem appropriate.

ROASTED STUFFED TOMATOES OVER BROWN RICE PASTA

4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, preferably organic and washed well with a vegetable cleanser

3 button mushrooms, chopped

¼ onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

¼ cup goat cheese or goat cheese crumbles

2 tbs flat leaf parsley, chopped

A few sprinklings of Italian Seasonings

Salt and Freshly Cracked Ground Pepper to taste

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbs white balsamic vinegar

1 tbs water or vegetable broth

Brown Rice pasta – fettuccini or penne… your choice

 

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F.
2. Cut the top off the tomatoes and carefully scoop out most of the inner flesh and seeds. Sometimes, I also cut a very small slit underneath the tomato to help is stay upright.
3. Collect the innards of the tomatoes in a bowl were we will mix with the rest of the stuffing ingredients. Place the hollowed tomatoes in a greased baking dish. Season them with a very light sprinkle of salt, pepper and olive oil. Set aside.
4. Chop the tomato insides in a small dice. Chop the tomato tops also. No need to waste those. Add the mushrooms, garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, parmesan, goat cheese and parsley. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings and a small drizzle of olive oil. Mix well to combine.
5. Stuff the tomatoes generously. Try not to burst them open, but create a mound of stuffing on top. Garnish with a little more grated or shredded parmesan cheese on top of each tomato. Season again the whole dish with some salt, pepper and a last drizzle of olive oil. Add the vinegar and broth to the bottom of the baking dish.
6. Place in oven and roast for about 30 -45 minutes.
7. When the tomatoes just have about 10 minutes left, cook the pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is done to your liking, drain it, reserving about 1/2 cup of cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot you cooked it in.
8. Remove the tomatoes onto a holding dish. Transfer the juice/broth in the bottom of the baking dish onto the pasta pot with the drained pasta. Mix well to combine… add a bit of pasta water if you like. Add a sprinkle of additional parmesan if you’d like.
9. Serve pasta in plates… add one tomato per person on top of the pasta.

The way to go about this is that the stuffed tomato becomes, when you cut it while eating, the tomato sauce you eat the pasta with. The cheeses and mushrooms and breadcrumbs in the stuffing create this savory mixture with the tomatoes that is just spectacular.

Melissa has already requested I make this in her home again for company… Walter and David were positively impressed when they tasted it. My mom also… I am telling you, this recipe is a true hit. And a tad bit more figure-friendly than my usual impress-new boyfriend-recipe Baked Pasta with 4 Cheeses.

I have made this recipe with Roma tomatoes, large tomatoes and even those small vine-ripened tomatoes you find at Costco.  I just use 3 tomatoes per person when using either Roma or the smaller ones. 

Hope you like it too… How would you make this recipe your own???

Tags: breadcrumbs, food, Goat Cheese, mushroom, parmesan cheese, tomato, vegetarian